Meet Darielle Fernandez—an artist, activist, and vital force behind LGBTQ+ education, group facilitation, and organizational accountability at FYI. As our LGBTQ+, Equity, and Community Specialist, Darielle plays a critical role in shaping the organization's values and practices. In collaboration with program leadership, she ensures that diversity, equity, and inclusion remain at the forefront of our work. "When you make the organization accessible to the most marginalized, you make the organization accessible to everyone," she says. "Our program will only get better if it's more accessible."
As a queer person and lifelong resident of Washington Heights, Darielle understands the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ youth in this community. Following her graduation from Columbia University with a Bachelor's degree in African American Studies, Darielle began her journey with Fresh Youth Initiatives by developing educational workshops centered around wellness, reproductive health, consent, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Darielle—who works with K–12 FYIers as well as our 80+ staff members—states that her messages resonate universally, regardless of age: "Teaching kids to care is something that can start at any age. Maybe we're not using all the LGBTQ+ terminology with our kindergarteners, but we are still teaching them that seeing someone different is a reason for celebration—not skepticism or hate. And at its core, that's the same lesson we're teaching our high schoolers." Darielle’s work with staff and participants builds cohesion around values and practices at FYI, supporting a safe environment that embraces and empowers all participants, regardless of their identity or ability.
Darielle acknowledges the profound impact of her presence on the youth we serve—particularly because of her own experiences growing up as an Afro-Latinx queer person in Washington Heights. "Being visibly queer or trans in a room completely shifts the air inside of it," Darielle explains. "I can have so much impact just from being in a room. They ask, 'Why is he wearing earrings? Why is her hair like that?' I am the conversation starter. It's okay [for the kids] to mess up and misgender me because I'll be there to talk about it. It might not be so easy with someone else in a different environment.”
Darielle's presence inspires youth to ask questions, challenge stereotypes, and explore their own identities. She serves as a guide for youth by facilitating discussions and providing support to those who may not have a safe space to do so elsewhere. “There is so much hiding in Latinx and Black populations around queerness and transness. Because I look like this, kids don't have to question whether or not I'm going to be accepting of them. They come to me because they understand I'm a queer person. That's why sometimes the first thing kids do when we meet is come out to me."
Darielle is advancing a culture at FYI where LGBTQ+ youth feel seen, heard, and celebrated. "I love working at FYI. It truly feels like I'm working by and for my community," Darielle says. “I've worked out of Brooklyn, the Bronx, Lower Manhattan, and Harlem, but I've never done this kind of work where I grew up in Washington Heights. This is the job that 16-year-old Darielle dreamed about.”
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FYI is committed to countering the adverse mental health risks faced by LGBTQ+ youth. According to research from the Trevor Project, 46 percent of LGBTQ+ teens (ages 13–17) seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, versus 22 percent of all teens.